Big Sister

Last night, I walked into the bathroom and this is what I saw.

Chey was helping Dakota brush her teeth and Dakota was letting her. What a sweet moment. 
P.S. today is Trey's last day at work! Tomorrow is a new chapter.

My First Attempt at a Paleo Pot Recipe

I have a crockpot. I use it often, but it's mainly for making one recipe. It's really not even a recipe, so I'm not sure why I'm calling it that...it's just pinto beans. Add water. Add dry beans. Boom, dinner! I'd like to use my crockpot more often and add some variety. Monday, was my first stab at trying a paleo pot recipe.

This is what I made, Stuffed Pork Chops with bacon, green apples, and pecans. I can't believe this golden recipe has been sitting in my Pinterest for over a year.

I never grabbed a photo of the end result
1. Because crockpot photos never really look appetizing. Am I right?
2. Because it was too yummy for me to stop and take a snapshot.

The stuffing is the bomb.com. I would make this recipe again and again, the only thing I'd change is, I would probably add a little bit of water and add an extra onion or two. Here is the full recipe from Paleopot.com.

Dakota loved the meat.
Chey ate it, but I could tell it wasn't her favorite.
Trey wasn't at home, if he was home I'm 100% positive he wouldn't have even tried it.

This Happened, Today & Complicated Childcare

Last night, Trey helped me frame the latest composite work for UTA Nursing. This is outside contract work, that I do twice a year. The Off-campus (online) students heard about this service and they've requested that I provide photography for them as well. There are over 100 off-campus students in this upcoming May cohort and about half of them live in the DFW area. Not all of them will participate in the composite, but it is an option for them. This is pretty exciting and I'm so glad I can offer this service to them as well.

It looks like my business is expanding. On that note, childcare is getting more complicated. Especially with Amanda due with baby number 3. She has about 4 weeks left, but she's has a reputation of delivering early, so really she's due any day now. I have upcoming weddings that I will record, so I have to find childcare on Saturdays and Sundays when those are scheduled. I have a friend who said she will watch the girls while Amanda is on maternity leave and then another who said to call her, if I need back-up. Now, to figure out everything in between, like working weekends.

I have been looking into non-traditional childcare centers. There are a few places that offer drop-in childcare. I'm really considering a place like that, when my childcare girls are not available.

Weekend Fun ABCDE

This weekend, we went to Abilene to celebrate Trey's 31st birthday and also to met our niece. Meet Elli.

Just what our family needs, more girls!  Now, Mom has ABCDE.
A - Angelica
B - Bella
C - Cheyenne
D - Dakota
E - Elli

Dakota is having another eczema breakout. I have a few family members who sell Doterra. I bought Lavender Oil, so I'm using that mixed with coconut oil to treat her skin. Hoepefully, it will help.

This was from last Wednesday - but I wanted to include it. Chey made cards for her teachers for --- Awana Teacher Appreciation Night.

Have you been to Pump it Up? We were invited to a birthday party and we had a blast! Oh, and so did the kids. I might look into this next for Dakota's or Chey's next birthday.

New Toy. Looking Forward to This. & A Dose of Sweetness.

One of the greatest challenges I face, when filming handheld with my DSLR is stabilization and rolling the focus. I hope this new piece of equipment helps. If not, then there goes $300.

This girl has the green light to go to The NABShow in Las Vegas. I can't wait to get my hands on some gear! Especially, now that I have my own business and I still plan on investing in more products. Vendors have gear displayed like this (see pic below), so you can test everything! It's a wonderful experience and I can't wait!!!!!! I'll be attending the Post Production World Conference at the NABShow.

It's been a while since you've seen a photo of Dakota. Here's your dose of sweetness. By the way, that's my favorite shirt. I need it in my size. Have a great weekend!

Major Changes - I'm Not the Only Entrepreneur in The Family

Next month, Trey will be working for a new company. It's his own business. This has been a 10 (plus) year journey. However, for the past year, he has been making huge steps to make this a reality, by taking exams, getting his LLC and more.

Looks like this is really happening! We are excited! I'm so proud of him.
This is going to be an adventure.

My Week in Photos

This weekend I had a video wedding opportunity…So, Friday night, I spent a few hours organizing and getting re-acquainted with my gear.

It was a fast evening of work. I documented the pre-ceremony and ceremony, that's it.

Earlier this week, the girls and I had a picnic at Sams Club. That's normal, right?

Packed lunches, from home. We got a few stares, but people seemed mostly amused with this princess.

Speaking of food. Ladies night! Soup Night!

This dog tried to adopt us. He sat outside our home for 24 hours. Sorry, pup. Wrong house.

I ran 19 miles with my new running friends! This was big weekend highlight for me. I can't wait to run with them again.

Not All Test Shots Have to Be Boring & My Business Goals

Happy Friday, everyone!

Earlier this week, I complied a 2013 Financial Report for my business. Wowzzza! The numbers looked good! It was an incredible first year of business. That's really why I'm jumping. LOL! Thanks for your support!

My first love is and will always be cinema. If I had to choose between photo or cinema --- hands down I would pick cinema work. However, there is no denying my love for photography. After reviewing my first year in business, it is obvious photography is carrying DA Video Photo Services. My goal for this year is to immerse myself with education as much as I can about the art of head shot photography. Hey, and why not have a little fun, in the process?

Another goal in 2014 is to record at least 5 weddings. So far, I have two on the calendar.
Also, to experiment with cinema and photography and not get so worked up on getting an immediate shot, but really take my time. That's so hard when documenting a wedding day because everything moves soooo fast!

Networking.
I plan on connecting with new professionals in the field. I have a meeting in a few days with a wedding photographer to eat burgers and discuss business stuff.

I'll keep you posted on the fun happenings throughout the year. Thanks again!

I Like to Experiment: Timelapse

Lately, I've been experimenting with time-lapse.

The time frame from December-Feburary is kind of my slow season. When I have "down time", I usually watch a ton of training videos, do product research, watch for trends in the field and then I go out and experiment. PLAY TIME FOR PROFESSIONALS! Timelapse has always fascinated me and today I finally took a stab at it. The glare in the middle is a reflection from an indoor florescent light, in case you were concerned it was a UFO. :) This is my first timelapse, not my last! Here's to capturing gorgeous Texas sunrises and sunsets!

My First Timelapse from Dominique Anderson on Vimeo.

Practicing - Flash Photography

Lately, I've been learning about flash photography.
Saturday, I watched Lynda's - Foundation of Photography: Flash. It was a 3 hour course. Just about every course I've watched on Lynda.com has been so educational. I wish I had all the time in the world, to sit and watch videos from that site.

Since I specialize in headshots, I want the headshots to look, the best they can look. I really want to learn all about his craft.


Cool vignette effect - no post production, just lighting.

I still can't get the second flash to communicate with my set-up, so everything on this post is one off camera flash, not two (which I need to figure out).

My 365 Video Project, Running with a Gang and a Week of Photos

So, like I mentioned before I'm doing a 365 project. I'm recording a second of video everyday this year. To make things interesting, I will post my progress on the blog every now and then. Here's what I have from Jan. 1 - 11.
How is your weekend so far? I'm doing great. I spent a small portion of my morning at the Cowtown Marathon office.

This morning I ran 16 miles. I met up with a huge group of runners, who plan on running the Cowtown Marathon. (photo credit: Cowtown). Can you find me? Here's a hint, I'm wearing pink. Before that picture was taken, I only knew two people there….during that long run, I made several new friends. Running brings people together! Afterwards, we ate free food. Yum!

Ok, now for the random photos from my week. Here's another view of my office, but a different angle. I have 5 computer monitors. They all serve a purpose. (that's how I justify it)

Kids these days are so spoiled…so many monitors, even in the car. Oh, wait…..

Mrs. Amanda had a check-up doctors appt. While she was at the appt, she made Chey wear this mask. She was sick, but not that sick. I laughed so hard. It was funny.

Chey and Luke having a sweet moment together. Well, that's all I have. Good night.

Work Stuff & This is my Office

This is what I've been up to at work. Product testing.

Have you ever seen my office? Here is one view of it. I really like my space! No, I love it! There's lots of room for me to roll around in my office chair. I remember when I interviewed for the position, I was shown the office and I was told, "if you are hired, this would be your office." I was so excited and I hadn't even been offered the job. I have it decorated super girly. On the opposite side of the wall I have three flower framed photos.

The above photo is a still frame from the GoPro Hero 3+
So, where was I…Yeah, product testing. This is such a wonderful toy!

And this is an audio recording device. Today, I used it to re-record a voiceover for a video I'm working on. It looks really complicated, but it's not.

I'll leave you with two images of my girls.

Lately, Dakota is obsessed with those PJs. When she sees them she barks. haha!

When Water Freezes...

When water freezes, you know, it's (literally) freezing outside!
Yesterday, I was walking across campus and saw several fountains partially frozen.

Brrr! I'm sticking to the treadmill.
  
But you have to admit it looks pretty. All this ice is reminding me about the movie frozen. Have you seen it yet? Chey and Trey have seen it twice, I'm so jealous - I could cry five more times. We've been listening to the soundtrack on Spotify. And all we do lately is ask each other…..
"Do you want to build a snowman?????" I'm not kidding.

Ice Skating in Ft. Worth!

Have you been to Panther Island Ice? It's Ft. Worth's first outdoor ice skating rink. This is at the same location where Coyote Drive-In is located.
After church, on Sunday, I took Angelica and Cheyenne.

We were freezing!!!! But we had a blast. I kept asking Chey…Do you want to leave? Are you ok? Are you having fun??? She said, yes I want to stay. I'm having fun!!! We skated for about 3 hours. 
I think both of the girls are better at ice skating than roller skating…well, they picked up faster.
Cheyenne almost fell, see for yourself.

This was her right before we left. She got the hang of it!

Training. Sweet Treats. Furniture Shopping.

How was your weekend? I woke up early Saturday morning and went for an 18 mile run. I figured, if I'm going to run an ultra, I need to train like I am going to run one.

Luckily, I updated my playlist, so I was not completely bored running for 3 hours. This picture is a tiny snapshot of my run playlist. I'm in love with LeAnn Rimes - Spitfire album!

It's been forever since I ate a GU, during a long run. For this long run, I made a wheat wrap filled with almond butter and honey. I ate half of it around mile 14 and the other half at mile 16.

Trey's mom and Uncle were in town, so we hung out with them Saturday. The boys and kids were craving something sweet.

You know you've worn a Krispy Kreme hat at least once. P.S. those white sunglasses - I found at Academy for $2.98!

The kids were fascinated with the donut making process.


We decided to take our sugar crash to Rooms to Go. We are kind of in the market for new living room furniture. We like this set.

I'm ready for something different. I want leather. It seems more kid friendly. What do you think?